Gay trend watch: wed on vacation, honeymoon at home!

June 27th, 2008
By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor

Next year is my ten year “anniversary” with my spousal equivalent — though we’ve always had to wonder, anniversary of what??? In our case we chose the date that made the difference. (There’s also the question of which finger to wear the ring on — by wearing it on the traditional wedding finger am I trying to pass as a married straight man in this rural Georgia town?)We’re thinking maybe to celebrate that decade we’ll pack up a dozen of our best friends and head for California:

Ride a cable car. Visit Alcatraz. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Get hitched?

Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex weddings, but California is the first to allow nonresidents to marry - and 87 same-sex couples from other states and countries have already filed marriage licenses during their trips to San Francisco.

The number of non-Californians getting married in the city is expected to spike today as tourists arrive in advance of this weekend’s gay pride events. As of Thursday afternoon, 206 same-sex couples had appointments to get marriage licenses at City Hall today, making it the busiest day so far.

Already, the same-sex pairs have come from all corners of the United States, including liberal places like Seattle and New York City and conservative bastions such as South Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas.

We wouldn’t be the first from Georgia:

David Whatley, 31, and Michael Potts, 34, live in Atlanta and know Georgia won’t recognize their marriage anytime soon. But when they saw the California weddings on the news June 17, they bought their plane tickets immediately. They purchased wedding rings two days later, arrived at SFO last Friday morning and were married within hours - with a stranger serving as their witness.

“We figured we couldn’t wait for Georgia to get onboard. We had to come across the country to do it instead,” Whatley said. “We’re tired of intolerance. San Francisco’s a very forward-looking city, and we’re glad to be a part of it.”

Catching up in other gay marriage news: the Arizona Senate rejected a proposed ballot measure to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.

Obama disappoints. Sadly. Not unexpectedly.

Mormons ask LDS members to fight same-sex marriage in California.

Openly gay chief marketing officer for Kmart leaves to join California marriage fight.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 7:45 am and is filed under Homosexuality, Human Rights, Legal Matters, Moral Values, Culture Wars, California, Family, Civil Liberties, Society, Sexuality, Minorities, GLBT Issues, Homophobia, Law & Legal Matters. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Marlowecan 3 months ago 1 point
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Congrats!

BTW:
How will your getting married in CA affect your legal status re: pensions and stuff in Georgia? Also, if gay marriage in CA is voted down in November, how will that impact your plans?

Anyhow, wish you the best of luck. Enjoy the coast highway...does wonders for the soul!

PS: I loved the title of the linked article: "Gays are a Cheap Date for Obama" He can take the community for granted, I suppose.

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